At a court hearing on Thursday, former US President Donald Trump will be formally indicted on charges related to an alleged plot to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election.
Scheduled for Thursday at 4:00 PM EDT (8:00 PM GMT), 77-year-old Mr. Trump is set to make an appearance at a federal courthouse in Washington DC.
It is anticipated that he will enter a plea of not guilty. Despite having the possibility of opting for a remote video appearance, it is reported that he plans to attend in person.
Since his departure from the White House, Mr. Trump has visited the city on just one occasion. In a scene that unfolded on Wednesday evening, a queue had already begun forming outside the courthouse building.
In anticipation of the arraignment, Trump criticized the case as evidence of the “corruption, scandal, & failure” characterizing Joe Biden’s presidency.
Image Source – Reuters; Image caption, News trucks are parked around the courthouse
Concurrently, Mr. Trump is already confronting two additional criminal cases as he embarks on his White House campaign for the upcoming year.
In Washington DC, security measures are being escalated in preparation for the scheduled hearing. Metal barricades have been erected outside the federal courthouse where the charges against Trump will be officially presented. Similar structures have also been established around the US Capitol buildings, the site of the January 2021 riots incited by Trump supporters in response to the election outcome.
The Secret Service, responsible for safeguarding presidents and former presidents, issued a statement alerting the public to potential traffic disruptions in central Washington DC.
Amidst these developments, a purported hoax 911 call concerning an active shooting at the Capitol led to a lockdown in three Senate office buildings and prompted a significant police emergency response on Wednesday.
Addressing reporters during the incident, US Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger affirmed the preparedness of the police force that confronted the rioters two and a half years ago, noting their proficiency in active-shooter drills.
Reportedly, security for the judges involved in the case has also been heightened.
In an all-capital-letters post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, the former president, who was at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club, thanked his followers and said: “I never had so much support on anything before.”
🇺🇸 Donald #Trump is expected to appear in court on Thursday to answer charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election.
— FRANCE 24 English (@France24_en) August 3, 2023
🗳️ The case will cast a dark cloud over the 2024 White House race for which he remains the presumptive Republican nominee. @ClemenceWaller has the details. pic.twitter.com/X3jREJbIDB
In previous social media posts, he launched critiques against his Republican rivals in the presidential race, which includes his former Vice-President, Mike Pence, and the Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis.
He reiterated his assertion that Mr. Pence had possessed the legal authority to halt the certification of Mr. Biden’s election triumph on January 6, 2021—a session that was marred by the disruption caused by Trump supporters at the US Capitol.
The indictment lists four charges against Mr. Trump, encompassing conspiracy to defraud the US, witness tampering, and conspiracy against citizens’ rights. Among these, the “deprivation of rights” charge, instituted following the US Civil War to safeguard freed slaves integrating into society, stands out.
This charge played a pivotal role in the 1967 trial of Ku Klux Klan members, which subsequently inspired the 1988 film “Mississippi Burning.” Legal analysts suggest its inclusion in the case against Mr. Trump stems from allegations that his attempts to undermine the electoral process targeted urban regions with significant African-American voter populations.
Mr. Trump’s legal team has hinted at their defense strategy. Attorney John Lauro made an appearance on NBC’s Today show on Wednesday, outlining their intention to argue that Mr. Trump’s actions are shielded by the First Amendment’s protection of free speech enshrined in the US Constitution.
Mr. Trump’s legal team is also pushing back against the prosecutors’ request for an expedited trial, citing the need for ample time to prepare a robust defense for their client.
A spokesperson from the US Marshals Service, a federal law enforcement agency responsible for courthouse security, informed Reuters news agency that Mr. Trump will undergo fingerprinting and provide essential information like his birthdate and Social Security ID number.
Numerous other individuals accused of involvement in the US Capitol riot have had their Thursday hearings rescheduled.
Presently, Mr. Trump maintains a prominent lead in the Republican Party’s competition to designate its forthcoming presidential nominee.
Congressional Republicans have rallied in support of him, contending that the recent indictment underscores a perception of the US devolving into a “banana republic.” They echo the former president’s assertion that these prosecutions amount to interference in elections.
The 45-page election-related indictment against Mr Trump is based partly on contemporaneous notes that Mr Pence kept of their conversations in the days leading up to US Capitol riot.
Mr Trump has already been charged in two other cases: with mishandling classified files and falsifying business records to cover up a hush-money payment to a porn star.
Prosecutors in Georgia may bring a criminal case against Mr Trump this month over alleged efforts to subvert the 2020 election result in that state.